DETROIT – Micah Parsons wasn't even aware of what he'd just accomplished until the dust had settled on a critical 31-24 win for the Packers over their NFC North rival Detroit Lions.
Prior to that, all the four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher was concerned with was doing whatever possible to ensure a Thanksgiving Day victory in front of 66,662 at Ford Field.
His 2½ sacks against the Lions not only achieved that goal but also put Parsons in rare air as the first player in NFL history to record 12-plus sacks in each of his first five seasons.
"I feel like going into the offseason, it was supposed to be my year, my year to be the best player and just trying to live up to that," Parsons said. "Obviously not having (training) camp, it took me a little more of a while to get into a rhythm. Being in championship football games, division games, I just have to step up my level of play and just be the person they brought me in to (be)."
Parsons was every bit the playmaker Green Bay needed on the defensive side of the ball on Thursday afternoon on his way to eight tackles, four quarterback hits and 2½ sacks of Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Each one was consequential in the victory, too.
Parsons' first came on a shared sack with Kingsley Enagbare on third-and-15 from the Detroit 46, which forced the Lions to punt on back-to-back possessions to start the game.
Parsons also combined with inside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie for a 2-yard tackle for a loss of Jahmyr Gibbs on fourth-and-2 at the start of the third quarter. Two plays later, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for a 51-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 24-14.
Parsons then sacked Goff twice on the Lions' last scoring drive, with his second resulting in a loss of nine yards on third-and-4. Detroit settled for a field goal with three minutes left and never possessed the ball again.
"It's really a shout to my teammates, every person I play with, they're a testament to all," Parsons said. "You can't do it by yourself. I just think it's a little bit of everything. But honestly man, I'm just so thankful and blessed to be a part of history and my own self and, obviously, doing it with the Green Bay Packers, someone that has such a rich history."
Parsons has set numerous records since the Packers acquired him from Dallas in August for two first-round picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark.
Asked what goes through his mind after learning he's the first NFL player to have 12-plus sacks in each of his first five seasons, Parsons answered without hesitation.
"How I can get to six? That's the mindset," Parsons said. "Once you do six, how do you get to seven? How do we keep improving? How do I continue to get better?"
'Sheed snags it: Left tackle Rasheed Walker made a heads-up play late in the third quarter when he jumped on Romeo Doubs' fumble following a slant route deep inside the Lions' red zone.
Three plays after the recovery, quarterback Jordan Love threw a 1-yard touchdown to Dontayvion Wicks to extend Green Bay's lead to 31-21 with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the third.
"I just saw the ball, and I got the ball," Walker said. "Everything worked out how it's supposed to."
All the best to Wyatt: Head Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed after the game that fourth-year defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt suffered a significant ankle injury late in the game.
In the postgame locker room, Parsons' extended well wishes to his injured teammate, who was coming off a two-sack performance just days earlier in the 23-6 win over Minnesota.
"He's a player you can't replace and we're going to have to ask a lot of young guys to step up," Parsons said. "It's going to be challenging but we're going to have to really dial into our details, our fundamentals to try to replace someone that's unreplaceable. That's the reality and I'm going to pray for him and I still hope he gets everything he deserves this offseason."
Two big touchdowns: Sandwiched around halftime, Doubs and Watson each caught key touchdown passes for Green Bay.
While the Packers were caught in an early shootout with the Lions, Doubs brought in a 2-yard TD from Love off a fourth-and-1 fade with a little more than two minutes left in the half.
"Gotta have it moment, fourth down," Doubs said. "Great ball, great catch and great play."
After that, Watson outpaced Amir Robertson down the right sideline to look in a near-perfect pass from Love for a 51-yard TD.
"It was a midgame adjustment that we had seen," Watson said. "We had seen they were playing really flat-footed. They weren't really trying to get out and run with us when they saw us breaking out. We dialed it up and it worked out perfectly."
Big win in the North: The Packers improved to 3-0 in the NFC North this season and registered their first regular-season sweep of the Lions since 2020.
They'll host the Chicago Bears next week in a battle of the top two teams in the division.
"The NFC North games always mean a little bit more," Watson said. "I feel like it's a little bit more than just one win on the stat sheet, so it means a lot to us to be able to come out there and sweep 'em this year."
